A Series of Unfortunate Events: Count Olaf reveals all in a hilarious new interview

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Count Olaf – alleged arsonist, con artist and master of disguise – has spoken out about his experiences of the thespian world in a new interview.

The character (played by Neil Patrick Harris) is the main antagonist of Netflix's dark new family show A Series of Unfortunate Events. In a funny three-minute video, the villainous Count lists his four favourite actors: himself, himself, himself and The Cosby Show's Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

The show, adapted from Daniel Handler's bestselling series of Young Adult novels (written under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket), follows the three Baudelaire Children – Violet, Klaus and Sunny – who are put in the care of their distant relative Olaf after their parents die in a mysterious fire.

The gothic novels had previously been adapted as a 2004 film, starring Jim Carrey in the role of Count Olaf.

Speaking to The Telegraph earlier this month, father-of-two Harris explained why he believes dark, menacing tales have a unique appeal for children: “Stories that are macabre, stories that are tragic and graphic, are kind of the way kids think," he said. "Our son goes around pretending anything he can find is a gun, and when we say that’s not OK, he just switches to an invisible gun. You can’t stop a kid from thinking: ‘I will cut you, I will blow you up.’ ”

The first season of A Series of Unfortunate Events is available on Netflix now